Hi All,

I wish I could have introduced myself under better circumstances, but that just couldnt be....

So tonight while trying to do the key fob upgrade to the new gen key fob i ended up breaking my key.

Interestingly enough, it was not taking apart the new key I had problems with, it was the old key:

1. I opened up the new key and got the guts out within about 20 min, with a little frustration but no real trouble. I thought I was home free.

2. I pried off the logo on my old fob, and realised I was not home free. It turns out the nice folks at VW glued the logo on in a way that the glue ran into the area where the screw is, rendering it absolutely impossible to unscrew. I tried everything, from scraping the surrounding glue off to trying to unscrew it by force, it did not budge.

3. As my anger was growing (as were my verbal insults at the german idiots who designed such a piece of crap key fob), I started getting more and more restless, determined to open that damn key.

4. I unscrewed the little screws and tried to pry it open by force. Its a surprisingly sturdy plastic, and while I could touch the guts, thinking I could just pull them out as they are no screwed on in anyway, they were stuck. I finally realised that this was not going to work, and put the old key back together and put the battery back in.

I had a creeping feeling that I broke the key, and when pressing on any of the buttons the little light would not light up. Then I went into the garage and tried unlocking the car, but I killed it. Tried taking out the battery, and putting it back in, no hope. I am very upset now, to say the least, and although I do have a spare key there is no way I am attempting this again.

It seems so many of you had success with this, I feel like a major dumb** that I am the only one that was not able to complete this utterly simple and mundane task.

Shame on me...

I guess at this point there are no tips to give me?

I just cost myself a new key and programming. One grand can buy me a lot more fun than two hours of torture and a broken key..... On the positive side, not everyone has the chance to play around with a bentley key for a GT they own, so its still great being here

 

Sorry to hear your tale of woe.

When I did mine I used a very fine watch makers screwdriver to dig out the glue.
You may have dislodged one of the micro switches trying to force it apart.
Can you unlock the car with the key and start the engine?

Hope you get it sorted and good luck.

 

What was wrong with the old key fob?

Sorry that was just rubbing salt in the wound. That story sound just like me and my mechanical luck. I had a hard enough time changing the battery out without bruising the plastic.

On a side note i just recalled my most idiotic mechanical moment. I was putting on a fender chrome piece on the new Harley and could not get the one screw in the front. I spent 45 minutes trying and never did get it. I asked myself what kind of moron can not put one screw in? ME! Risking all the shame I took it to the Harley shop and told them I was inept. When I came back they said it took them over an hour to get it. There was primer overspray on the threads and it needed re-tapping but they had to remove the front wheel and axle to even do that. Costed me $85.00 to put on a $35.00 part.

I did feel somewhat exonerated because it would have taken me eternity to never complete the job.

From one idiot to another welcome to the club.

 

thanks, the screw is glued in too tight. i can post a pic once if you are interested.

i think for some reason (i wonder what that is) the folks at vw didnt want us to be tampering with our keys

what happened is clear now. i used a magnetic screw driver and it must have cleared some codes when i jammed it in there, close to the circuits. after playing around with the key a bit and making sure all of it was back in place, it did transmit something, as the little green light was flashing when pressing the buttons, but the car would not lock or unlock, only using the key holes, obviously setting the alarm off. however, the car would start with keyless go?

its strange. anyway, i will not be ordering a new key as this will work fine as a spare since it locks and unlocks the car and starts the car, essentially all that is needed from a spare.

i didnt have the time to tamper with the second key, but if and when i do, i will make sure to do it without the use of a magnetic screw driver and if the screw will not budge, i will not make the mistake of forcing it again. i also found a mechanic that says he can fix any key, so i will give him a go too, and see if he can come up with anything for the "broken" key. there is a solution to any problem....

 

thanks doc, some people just have "the gift" for these sort of things. its not necessarily the bad luck, but rather the stubbornness of not being able to walk away "until the job is done"

perfect example of a perfectly good personality trait gone terribly wrong

sometimes all it takes is a moment of thought and disengaging....

 

Well put.